Hayao Miyazaki's masterpiece, which won multiple award, can be seen as one big, weird coming-of-age story. Drawing heavily on Japanese Shinto-Buddhist folktales, the story draws a young girl into a magical world, by no fault of her own. Being robbed of her parents, she finds herself alone, having to work to survive and search for a way out. The characters Chihiro meets are often personifications of natural and psychological phenomena.
The story starts out as a unexpected journey of a young family that ends up at a magical restaurant. The parents' greed and focus on consumerism literally transforms them into pigs. This leaves the young heroine alone and afraid. Aided by a river that has forgotten who he is, she finds work and slowly acclimatizes with her surroundings. While at first shocked and in awe of the many spirits she encounters, throughout the movie the young heroine grows more confident and self-asserted. Miyazaki himself stated that he wanted to create a character that overcomes all troubles not through some magical growth, but through her own devices. Chihiro realizes who she is, overcomes the literal stealing of her own name (i.e. identity and childhood) and grows into a confident young woman that ends up escaping the ghost realm.
She meets multiple characters, some helpful, while others mostly malevolent. Haku, a river with amnesia, is a benevolent spirit that aids her growth and is in turn reminded of his true self. Yubaba, the owner of the bath house, is greed personified, only looking out for her own wealth, literally binding spirits to her. Her twin sister, Zeniba, at first seems to be a copy of her sisters greed and cruelty, however turns out to be a more compassionate and helpful soul. The twins being mirror images of each other, showing traits that oppose those of their counterpart, is a common theme used in magical storytelling. Other important souls, such as No-Face, who searches violently for a sense in life, or the other river that is choked in trash, can be seen as additional critique of modern Japanese society.
Spirited Away allows the audience to delve into a world full of magic and danger. One follows the journey of a very relatable girl that literally fights greed, societal pressure and environmental destruction. She comes out on top and leaves the magical realm, being a stronger and more resilient woman through the experience.
